This was an amazing anthology. If you've got any love, or interest in, the steampunk genre, get this anthology. If you already read steampunk, this one will jump to the front of your favorites. If you haven't read steampunk, but you're kinda curious, this is the perfect introduction. There are examples in this anthology of what the genre can do when in the hands of truly talented writers. (ya... I'm talking to you Mr. Vandermeer) ( )

I debated if I wanted to give it less than three stars, but in the end there is enough in the book to warrant at least a look. This is certainly not a "definitive" anthology, but it does have some good gems in it. The problem is it also has some pretty bad duds, and you have to sort them out. If you kept up with status updates as I read it, you will see that I found the book overall hit and miss. Some stories were really good, and others were not. When the book "worked," it was good. When it did not, I wanted to drop it. So, what worked for me:

*The first story, which kind of reminded me a bit of an early Heinlein.

*The Company story (I think that was Kage Baker's). It does capture a bit of the steampunk feel and scene, and it was good enough that I may seek out other novels in the The Company series.

*"Petrolpunk" was probably my favorite if not one of my favorites in the series.

*And "American Cheetah" gave an interesting look at one of the American presidents, with robots.

*Other stories varied. The wife revenge tale was interesting for the twist it offered, but I was not particularly thrilled with it (in other words, it was ok).

So read it, but keep your expectations in the average range. I told you the stories that worked for me. You may find others work better for you, so to speak. It is a decent anthology, and it has some good examples of steampunk. But it is not definitive.

( )

As with many anthologies this is a little bit of a mixed bag, although on the whole the stories are excellent. The opener, 'Steampunch' by James Lovegrove, is for me far the weakest effort. Each of the other stories either presents an original take on the genre - 'The Lollygang Saves the World on Accident', 'Static', Petrolpunk - or, like Margo Lanahan's 'Machine Maid' use the tropes of the genre to excellent and chilling effect.

Well worth a read as an introduction to Steampunk and perhaps some unfamiliar authors. ( )

This was an amazing anthology. If you've got any love, or interest in, the steampunk genre, get this anthology. If you already read steampunk, this one will jump to the front of your favorites. If you haven't read steampunk, but you're kinda curious, this is the perfect introduction. There are examples in this anthology of what the genre can do when in the hands of truly talented writers. (ya... I'm talking to you Mr. Vandermeer) ( )

This was an amazing anthology. If you've got any love, or interest in, the steampunk genre, get this anthology. If you already read steampunk, this one will jump to the front of your favorites. If you haven't read steampunk, but you're kinda curious, this is the perfect introduction. There are examples in this anthology of what the genre can do when in the hands of truly talented writers. (ya... I'm talking to you Mr. Vandermeer) ( )